'Miracle' celebrates 6th birthday

Boy's family steers clear of 666 mania on special day.

Boy's family steers clear of 666 mania on special day.

June 06, 2006|JOSHUA STOWE Tribune Staff Writer

OSCEOLA -- Eric McDonald turns 6 today, but his birthday party won't have any of the "666" hoopla that comes with the date. On a day when Hell, Mich., is playing off its devilish name and filmmakers are releasing a remake of a classic horror flick "The Omen," Eric's family will celebrate the birthday of a "miracle baby" they see as a gift from God. The cherubic lad doesn't watch "Harry Potter" movies or don a ghoulish costume on Halloween, but he can belt out a Bible verse, something he learned at the Christian school where his mom teaches. "God has not given me a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind," the youngster sang Monday afternoon, after begging his mom, Lisa McDonald, to let him ride his bike while being interviewed. His story begins several years ago, when his mom had all but given up on becoming pregnant. Doctors had removed one of her ovaries as part of surgery to treat a medical condition, and they'd told her she had perhaps a 10 percent chance of conceiving a child. The resulting scar tissue adhered to her stomach muscles, she says, leaving her with sharp, stabbing pains. When she went in for surgery for it, McDonald says she learned to her surprise that she was pregnant and that further surgery would bring a risk of miscarriage. But young Eric survived it. Later, when doctors delivered him by emergency C-section after 18 hours of labor, they found the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. "He was a really good baby," his mom says. "He didn't have any problems after that. He was really healthy." Although his family is aware of the mania surrounding today's date -- 6-6-6 -- they are celebrating his "golden birthday," a tradition his mom picked up as a young student in Logansport. Because Eric was born on the sixth day of the month, Lisa McDonald says, his sixth birthday is his golden one.